Member asks - isn't it about time?

COOL: I-BAND

July 20, 2007|Opinion of Allen Lund, Cow/calf producer from Selfridge, NDSecretary of the Independent Beef Association of North Dakota (I-BAND).

Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) for beef is on the chopping block again. Sound like old news? Well that's because it is. COOL was passed into law in the 2002 Farm Bill and was to be implemented in the fall of 2004. Since then the implementation date has been delayed twice in congress and is now set to take effect in the fall of 2008. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) and many of their affiliate organizations say they won't support mandatory COOL, because it contains too many loop holes. This is just a front. If they didn't think this law was written right, they have had the last five-years to try and fix it. Instead they have been working very diligently to try and make it go away. Why? While claiming to represent the entire U.S. cattle industry, the NCBA will take the side of the packers and retailers over the side of the producers every time. The lackeys that work for the U.S. beef packing and retailing industry have spent countless dollars and time to persuade congress and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to not implement this law. Why? They are afraid that, given the option, U.S. consumers will be more likely to buy beef born, raised, and processed in the United States over cheaper poorer quality foreign beef, thereby greatly cutting in on their excessive profit margins. Recently the American Meat Institute (AMI) which is the nation's largest meat packing association has come up with another ploy to stop COOL dead in its tracks. They are recommending that the U.S. packing industry obtain written affidavits and third-party verification from producers. These stipulations are not written into the 2002 COOL bill and are being deceitfully circulated to the U.S. cattle producer in an attempt to turn them against COOL. To top it all off, the USDA announced on June 15, 2007 that it will open a new 60-day comment period on COOL. The COOL comment period ended in 2003. It looks like this is just another attempt on their part to delay the implementation date further? More and more, we as consumers are demanding to know the origin of the food that we purchase and feed to our families. We feel that we should have the option of buying produce from the country of our choice. More and more, we as U.S. cattle producers would like to have our product labeled as a product of the United States. We raise some of the best grain fed beef and adhere to some of the strictest food safety standards in the world and feel that our product should be differentiated in the market place. We feel that given the option, the U.S. consumer will purchase U.S. born, raised, and processed beef over beef imported in from foreign countries. As the 2008 implementation date for mandatory COOL draws nearer, we are going to see the opposition working harder than ever to get this bill defeated. We as consumers and producers are going to have to work just as hard or harder to see that this bill gets implemented. Check with your organizations and representatives to see where they stand on COOL. Tell them that you will accept nothing less than mandatory COOL as written in the 2002 Farm Bill.